A SURVEY ON SOFTWARE PATENTS AND THEIR LINKAGE TO PROMOTING INNOVATION: INDIA PERSPECTIVE

Personal computers (PC) have significantly increased demand for mass market software. Computer software has also now become an enabler for all fields of technology; innovation is inevitable for growth of this fast emerging industry. For economic viability for such innovations, there is an increased advocacy for incorporating software as a patentable subject matter forcing countries to make computer software patentable either completely or in limited form. However, patenting of computer software related inventions have not been without its own set of controversies. Not only software patents globally are being protected under vastly divergent legal perspectives, with varying interpretations of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreement, but are also still evolving through continued interventions from policy makers and federal courts. This has led to a very broad boundary between patentable and non-patentable subject matter and has resulted in a large number of trivial inventions being accepted as patents in this area. This paper analyzes these varying perceptions as regards to software patents in different jurisdictions like United States, Europe, Japan and India. Linkage between software patents and innovation has also been attempted by taking into account historical perspectives of technological arts and their effect on promoting innovation.